UFC officials today announced the welterweights have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 146.

The event takes place May 26 in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden
Arena, likely with a heavyweight headliner between champion Junior Dos Santos
and top contender Alistair Overeem.

The main card airs on pay-per-view, and prelims are expected to stream
on FX. It’s not clear where Hardy vs. Ludwig will be placed in the
lineup.

Hardy returns from a nine-month layoff that followed a submission loss to Chris Lytle. It marked a fourth straight defeat for the Brit, who opened his UFC career with four consecutive wins before a championship loss to titleholder Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111. After the Lytle loss, UFC president Dana White said the organization wouldn’t cut Hardy because of his crowd-pleasing style, but the fighter, who’s recently visited various camps, surely finds himself in a must-win situation now.

Ludwig, meanwhile, was kept from a third straight UFC win when Josh Neer put him to sleep in a UFC on FX 1 co-headliner back in January. Ludwig, a veteran fighter who also owns a 43-7-1 pro-kickboxing record, had defeated Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah after he moved from lightweight to welterweight.

The latest UFC 146 card now includes:

Champ Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem (for heavyweight title)*

Edson Barboza vs. Evan Dunham

Dan Hardy vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller

Paul Sass vs. Jacob Volkmann

* – Not officially announced

For more on UFC 146, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Dan Hardy)

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